The remediation of groundwater contamination is one of the most costly aspects of environmental remediation--consuming revenues from the parties responsible for the release of chemical contamination and insurance companies providing coverage for environmental remediation. As a result, the price of consumer goods and insurance premiums often rise to offset disbursements for costly environmental remediation, and tax dollars are often consumed to employ governmental regulatory agencies to oversee remediation or take on the responsibility of remediation in the event the responsible party is bankrupt or nonexistent or otherwise unable or willing to meet its financial obligations.
When chemical contamination is released into subsurface water bearing geological formations, groundwater supplies are affected and, are often, rendered nonpotable. Groundwater is one of the world's greatest natural resources supplying water for vegetation, animals and humans, especially in areas where there is little or no surface precipitation. Groundwater exists in a variety of geological formations, such as perched water in the unsaturated zone, the water table in the saturated zone, shallow and deep aquifers and bedrock aquifers, all of which in some capacity recharge contiguous subsurface water bearing formations or surface water bodies, such as lakes, ponds, swamps, marshes, bogs, rivers, streams, brooks and springs, etc. Groundwater and surface water bodies may be used as sources for drinking, recreation or irrigation. Consequently, chemical contamination released into subsurface water bearing geological formations must be remediated to safeguard the environment, animals and humans.
The remediation process will vary depending on the type, location, and amount of the chemical contamination. For example, if chemical contamination in subsurface water bearing geological formations readily dissolves or disperses into the groundwater, then many conventional remediation methods might be effective in treating chemical contamination in subsurface water bearing geological formations. However, hydrophobic or water insoluble chemical contamination released into subsurface water bearing geological formations has an affinity to bind by adsorption, adhesion or other physical phenomenon to the surface area within the primary porosity or secondary porosity of an affected water bearing formation as the chemical contamination is physically carried by groundwater. The chemical contamination bound to the subsurface water bearing geological formation slowly dissolves into the groundwater that flows through the area of contamination rendering the water supply nonpotable for years, if not permanently, depending on the extent of the chemical contamination. Chemical contamination bound to the subsurface water bearing geological formation is extremely difficult to remediate by conventional remediation methods, such as groundwater extraction, induced biodegradation, high temperature processes and oxidation processes (e.g., ozonolysis, hydrogen peroxide, uv treatment, radiation, etc.). Conventional remediation methods have numerous shortcomings which limit their ability to remediate chemical contamination quickly and efficiently.
For purposes of this invention "chemical contaminant" or "chemical contamination" means a chemical substance which can be classified in at least one of the following categories: volatile organic compounds; semi-volatile organic compounds; acid extractable compounds; phenolic compounds; base neutral compounds; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; polychlorinated biphenyls; pesticides; insecticides; herbicides; metals; and radionuclides.
For purposes of this invention "free chemical contamination" is defined as chemical contamination of hydrophobic or water insoluble character which is floating or undissolved in the body of groundwater contained within the affected water bearing formation and not bound to the surface area within the primary porosity or secondary porosity of the affected water bearing formation.
For purposes of this invention, "primary porosity" as used in this application means the void space in granular unconsolidated rock formations or granular consolidated rock formations, and "secondary porosity" as used in this application means the fractures in consolidated rock formations.
For purposes of this invention "oxidized form of lignitic coal" as used in this application means leonardite, other oxidized forms of lignitic coal, purified humic acid component of leonardite or other oxidized forms of lignitic coal, and chemically altered humic acid component of the oxidized forms of lignitic coal from processes such as biological degradation or chemical processes such as hydrolysis, esterification, transesterification, condensation, amidation, alkylation or salt formation with elements of nature or other suitable derivatives.
For purposes of this invention an "eluting component" as used in this application means the oxidized form of lignitic coal or the surface active agent in a composition which forms a water soluble complex with the chemical contamination by adsorption, adhesion, chelation or other physical phenomenon, such as covalent binding, coordinate binding or complexation.
For purposes of this invention "electronegativity" as used in this application means the positive or negative attractive force exerted by the chemical contaminant which defines its character regarding adsorption, adhesion, chelation or other physical phenomenon, such as covalent binding or complexation.
For purposes of this invention "eluant plume" is defined as the volumetric or areal extent of groundwater in the affected water bearing formation containing the dissolved complex formed between the chemical contamination and a composition of the present invention.
For purposes of this invention "in concentrations sufficient to complex with a chemical contaminant" or "in a concentration sufficient to complex with a chemical contaminant" means the suitable amount of an eluting component in a composition which effectively forms a complex with a chemical contaminant in a subsurface water bearing geological formation.